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Bell Tower given a shave
For Immediate Release On: 1/13/2009
For Further Information, Please Contact:
John Rebchook - Rocky Mountain News at rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com
Relevant Info on the Web: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/13/bell-tower-given-a-shave/
Developer Buzz Geller has put his 34-story Bell Tower condominium high-rise project on a diet.
He has reduced the width by the 18 percent that members of the Lower Downtown Design Review Board recommended last November after it rejected the development as too massive.
Geller estimates the cost of the building, slated for Speer Boulevard at Larimer Street, is now at $250 million, instead of $300 million. He will submit the thinner building at the next review board meeting, scheduled for Feb. 5.
"This is great news," said Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown, chairman of the city's economic development committee. "I know it has been frustrating on both sides. I hope this will mean some action in downtown.
"We need some excitement. In this economy, to have a $250 million project going forward is something that not many cities are experiencing."
When the plan was rejected in November, Geller and partner David Paderski were planning to pursue "option two" - a smaller, wider building instead of what they called an "iconic tower."
But Geller said he was so overwhelmed from the positive responses to Denverinfill.com blogs and from newspaper articles on Bell Tower that he asked Fentress Architects to design a scaled-down version to see what it would look like.
"I hope the tower happens," said Ken Schroeppel, author of Denverinfill.com. "The striking design and highly visible location will make it an instant landmark.
"But even if the tower doesn't get built, it's nice to know that Geller's back-up option will still give us a solid LoDo-scaled building and remove an ugly surface parking lot."
Geller, who has spent $1 million and three years on the project, is pursuing the original design, and not a second one that had architectural "pin stripes" to make the building look more slender. The slimmer building will have the same tiered design as the original.
"When we looked at the smaller model, we actually liked that one better," Geller said.
Geller met with city planner Tyler Gibbs on Dec. 31 to tell him about the skinnier version.
"I couldn't have gotten a warmer reception from him," Geller said.
On Monday, Gibbs said he did not want to speak for the board, but noted that many of the members "have always liked many things about the concept. A number of them at the last meeting encouraged him to do exactly this. I was pleased to see that he had taken the recommendation of the (board) and came up with the slimmed-down version."
Features of Bell Tower
*35 total residential units
*11 full-floor units
*10 two-story units
*10 half-floor units
*Two 1 ½-floor units
*Two full-floor units
*No two units will have the same configuration
*Fully plumbed and heated oversized terraces
*24-hour valet for residents
*Underground parking
*Direct elevator to units
*State of the art wiring within building and unit
*Heated floors within unit bathroom areas with steam areas
*Double walk-in closets
*State of the art kitchen appliances
*Generous decorating allowances
*Web site access to unit to access controls
*Unobstructed mountain and city views
Source: Buzz Geller
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